Where 哥 comes from
One person talking 可 over another 可
How to write 哥 (gē, “elder brother”)
哥 (gē), an HSK 1 character, means “elder brother”. It is a character whose parts combine into its meaning. Dictionaries list it under the radical 口 (“mouth”). It is part of the HSK word 哥哥 (“older brother”), and of 一哥 (“top-ranked male”) and 二哥 (“second brother”). Japanese reads it ka, “big brother”.
- Pinyin
- gē
- Strokes
- 10
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 口 (“mouth”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
As a top-bottom character it splits into 可 (“can”), strokes 1–5; 可 (“can”), strokes 6–10, written the top first.
- top leftrightwards
- top leftdownwards
- toprightwards → down and left
- centerrightwards
- topdown and right → downwards
- leftrightwards
- leftdownwards
- leftrightwards → downwards
- bottomrightwards
- centerdownwards → leftwards
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (10 strokes in Japanese, 10 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| gē first tone | elder brother | — | 哥哥 一哥 二哥 哥们 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 42 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 哥
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 哥哥 | gēge | older brother HSK 1 |
| 一哥 | yīgē | top-ranked male; leading male |
| 二哥 | èrgē | second brother |
| 八哥 | bāge | (bird species of China) crested myna (Acridotheres cristatellus) |
| 哥们 哥們 | gēmen | dude; buddy |
| 哥儿 哥兒 | gēr | brothers; boys |
| 大哥 | dàgē | eldest brother; big brother… |
| 小哥 | xiǎogē | young man; polite or friendly form of address or reference for a… |
| 的哥 | dīgē | male taxi driver |
| 八哥狗 | bāgēgǒu | pug (breed of dog) |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several characters: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Contain it:
HSK 1, in list order: